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The Nexus of Pop Culture and the Uncharted UniverseTue, 03 Mar 2015 20:18:24 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=2015.10Aaron Sorkin Will Write the Steve Jobs Biopic, So Don’t Worry, It’ll Be Great - Vital Information for Your Everyday Lifehttp://www.themarysue.com/aaron-sorkin-writing-steve-jobs-biopic/
http://www.themarysue.com/aaron-sorkin-writing-steve-jobs-biopic/#commentsWed, 16 May 2012 15:43:48 +0000http://www.themarysue.com/?p=46265
There was a rumor that this was going to happen, and now it is confirmed: screenwriter extraordinaire Aaron Sorkin will be the one adapting Walter Isaacson's biography of late Apple CEO Steve Jobs for the big screen. Sorkin, most famous for his work on The West Wing, has already won an Oscar for his last script about a tech giant (The Social Network), so this will be familiar territory for him. Not that Sorkin couldn't handle unfamiliar territory ... oh, wait, just remembered Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Never mind. We'll take familiar territory.]]>

There was a rumor that this was going to happen, and now it is confirmed: screenwriter extraordinaire Aaron Sorkin will be the one adapting Walter Isaacson‘s biography of late Apple CEO Steve Jobs for the big screen. Sorkin, most famous for his work on The West Wing, has already won an Oscar for his last script about a tech giant (The Social Network), so this will be familiar territory for him. Not that Sorkin couldn’t handle unfamiliar territory … oh, wait, just remembered Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Never mind. We’ll take familiar territory.

To be fair, Studio 60 was not a badly written show, but it was a badly approached show.

Anyway, back to the Steve Jobs thing. Indeed, Sorkin is an excellent choice for such a complicated personality because Sorkin is so great at writing for complicated people. He makes people flawed, but sympathetic, genius, but insensitive. He just has a knack for dialogue and people, and it’s refreshing and consistently entertaining. But considering Sorkin’s clout, he is one of the few screenwriters worthy (if you ask me) of tackling as big of a personality as Jobs. Those sentiments were echoed in the press release issued by Sony Pictures Entertainment, who is backing the movie. From their co-chair, Amy Pascal:

“Steve Jobs’ story is unique: he was one of the most revolutionary and influential men not just of our time but of all time. There is no writer working in Hollywood today who is more capable of capturing such an extraordinary life for the screen than Aaron Sorkin; in his hands, we’re confident that the film will be everything that Jobs himself was: captivating, entertaining, and polarizing.”

No word on a director yet, and so far, there are no rumors about one, nor is there a projected release date. But as long as we know it will be Aaron Sorkin putting the words in Jobs’ mouth, then I think we’re all gonna be okay.

Indeed, this could make everyone forget that Ashton Kutcher is currently playing Jobs in another movie, the more independent Jobs being directed by Joshua Michael Stern and written by Matt Whiteley (who might be nervous this morning). Sure, Kutch looks the part, and that’s all fine and good, but he’s going to be expected to say words on camera, too. We’ll hold on to our opinions until we see him actually saying those words, but I’m really excited about Sorkin’s script for the Isaacson story.

Now — who’s going to play Jobs in this movie? Is it still betweenNoah Wyle and George Clooney? Will actors start lining up now that Sorkin is definitely attached to write? This is gonna be fun.

]]>http://www.themarysue.com/aaron-sorkin-writing-steve-jobs-biopic/feed/2Aaron Sorkin to Write Sony’s Steve Jobs Moviehttp://www.themarysue.com/aaron-sorkin-write-sony-steve-jobs-movie/
http://www.themarysue.com/aaron-sorkin-write-sony-steve-jobs-movie/#commentsWed, 16 May 2012 15:13:12 +0000http://www.geekosystem.com/?p=98471We knew Ashton Kutcher will be playing Steve Jobs in an indie biopic, and we also knew Sony was planning a rival Steve Jobs movie. It turns out Sony has brought in the big gun to pen their rival flick, as Aaron Sorkin is now set to pen the screenplay. It's obvious we're big fans of Sorkin here at Geekosystem, slipping in mentions of Sports Night, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and his upcoming HBO show The Newsroom whenever we can (just like that, actually!), so we're thrilled that he'll be handling the movie adaptation of the life of Steve Jobs. After all, he did a pretty solid job handling another famous tech figurehead, Mark Zuckerberg, in his Facebook movie, The Social Network. You may have seen that.]]>We knew Ashton Kutcher will be playing Steve Jobs in an indie biopic, and we also knew Sony was planning a rival Steve Jobs movie. It turns out Sony has brought in the big gun to pen their rival flick, as Aaron Sorkin is now set to pen the screenplay. It’s obvious we’re big fans of Sorkin here at Geekosystem, slipping in mentions of Sports Night, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and his upcoming HBO show The Newsroom whenever we can (just like that, actually!), so we’re thrilled that he’ll be handling the movie adaptation of the life of Steve Jobs. After all, he did a pretty solid job handling another famous tech figurehead, Mark Zuckerberg, in his Facebook movie, The Social Network. You may have seen that.

Co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Amy Pascal, had this to say about Sorkin penning the Jobs movie:

“There is no writer working in Hollywood today who is more capable of capturing such an extraordinary life for the screen than Aaron Sorkin; in his hands, we’re confident that the film will be everything that Jobs himself was: captivating, entertaining, and polarizing.”

The movie will be adapted from the now-famous Walter Isaacson book that released shortly after Steve Jobs’ death last year, simply titled Steve Jobs.

Sorkin’s been on a roll as of late, winning an Oscar for best adapted screenplay for The Social Network, and being nominated for a best writing Oscar for the stellar Moneyball. He’ll almost assuredly be able to bring his writing magic to the Jobs movie. The Kutcher Jobs movie, on the other hand, should be releasing long before the Sorkin one, so at least we won’t have dueling Steve Jobs movies to deal with.

]]>http://www.themarysue.com/aaron-sorkin-write-sony-steve-jobs-movie/feed/1Will the World Accept Ashton Kutcher Playing Steve Jobs in an Indie Biopic? - Questions! Questions That Need Answeringhttp://www.themarysue.com/ashton-kutcher-to-play-steve-jobs-in-biopic/
http://www.themarysue.com/ashton-kutcher-to-play-steve-jobs-in-biopic/#commentsMon, 02 Apr 2012 13:33:44 +0000http://www.themarysue.com/?p=41709
Yesterday, in news that was promised to be true and not an April Fool's prank, it was announced that Ashton Kutcher -- of Ashton Kutcher fame -- will be playing the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs in an indie biopic. Okay, so, going by only the side-by-side pictures alone (pic from Mashable, who were brainy enough to choose pictures from both men's bearded phases), it's not that insane of an idea. But then when you recall that Ashton Kutcher is not known for his acting, let alone playing, um, geniuses, this throws things into a different perspective. Let's talk about this, shall we?]]>

Yesterday, in news that was promised to be true and not an April Fool’s prank, it was announced that Ashton Kutcher — of Ashton Kutcher fame — will be playing the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs in an indie biopic. Okay, so, going by only the side-by-side pictures alone (pic from Mashable, who were brainy enough to choose pictures from both men’s bearded phases), it’s not that insane of an idea. But then when you recall that Ashton Kutcher is not known for his acting, let alone playing, um, geniuses, this throws things into a different perspective. Let’s talk about this, shall we?

The news was broken yesterday by Variety’s Jeff Sneider on Twitter, and he swore up and down that this story was real. True as it may be, this particular biopic is not the bigger-budget one from Sony, which is based on Walter Isaacson biography of Jobs and has not yet cast its lead role. (That production has also mentioned the possibility of Aaron Sorkin writing the screenplay, which would be a beautiful happening, indeed.)

But this movie is not that movie — This movie, entitled Jobs, is being written by Matt Whiteley and directed by Joshua Michael Stern, best known for the movie Swing Vote. Production will begin next month, when Kutcher is released from his contract at Two and a Half Men.

So, yeah — Ashton Kutcher. Rather than completely write him off, surely he must have done something during an audition or meeting to prove he could take on the role of someone who has only recently passed away and left behind a vast legacy of creative technological innovations. He is generally known for the following things, even if they are things that are not all that recent: marrying/divorcing Demi Moore, playing goofy but handsome morons, playing one-dimensional handsome dudes in romantic comedies, getting tons and tons of people to follow him on Twitter, and Punk’d, which is enjoying a renaissance. Ask a normal person on the street, and they will not be able to tell you how this man has remained insanely famous since leaving That ’70s Show. But clearly, he’s been doing something right, so who are we to criticize him?

Though Variety points out that Kutcher did get decent reviews for his serious turns in David Mackenzie‘s Spread and Emilio Estevez‘s Bobby. So, maybe the Kutch has just been slumming it because he could get away with it, and there’s been a real actor hiding in there this whole time, just waiting to get out!

]]>http://www.themarysue.com/ashton-kutcher-to-play-steve-jobs-in-biopic/feed/9Steve Jobs Biography Hints at Integrated Apple TVhttp://www.themarysue.com/jobs-bio-apple-tv/
http://www.themarysue.com/jobs-bio-apple-tv/#commentsSat, 22 Oct 2011 17:00:59 +0000http://www.geekosystem.com/?p=77648Under Steve Jobs, Apple changed how most people listen to music and established a gold standard for both smart phones and tablet computers. All this while the company's set-top box called Apple TV has seen only modest sales. However, excerpts from Jobs' forthcoming authorized biography by Walter Isaacson suggest that Apple's assault on the living room is only just starting.
Isaacson said that Jobs wanted to make TV simpler, more elegant, and fully connected to Apple's existing media infrastructure. The Washington Post quotes Isaacson quoting Jobs:

‘I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use,’ [Steve Jobs] told me. ‘It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud.’ No longer would users have to fiddle with complex remotes for DVD players and cable channels. ‘It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it.’

Rumors of an updated Apple TV have been swirling for some time, but perhaps some far grander could be the last "one more thing" Steve Jobs has in store for us. ]]>Under Steve Jobs, Apple changed how most people listen to music and established a gold standard for both smart phones and tablet computers. All this while the company’s set-top box called Apple TV has seen only modest sales. However, excerpts from Jobs’ forthcoming authorized biography by Walter Isaacson suggest that Apple’s assault on the living room is only just starting.

Isaacson said that Jobs wanted to make TV simpler, more elegant, and fully connected to Apple’s existing media infrastructure. The Washington Post quotes Isaacson quoting Jobs:

‘I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use,’ [Steve Jobs] told me. ‘It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud.’ No longer would users have to fiddle with complex remotes for DVD players and cable channels. ‘It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it.’

Rumors of an updated Apple TV have been swirling for some time, but perhaps some far grander could be the last “one more thing” Steve Jobs has in store for us.

]]>http://www.themarysue.com/jobs-bio-apple-tv/feed/2Steve Jobs Wore Turtlenecks Because Sony Had a Company-Wide Uniform Policyhttp://www.themarysue.com/why-steve-jobs-wore-turtlenecks/
http://www.themarysue.com/why-steve-jobs-wore-turtlenecks/#commentsWed, 12 Oct 2011 13:45:50 +0000http://www.geekosystem.com/?p=76548Steve Jobs made the black turtleneck and 501 jeans an instantly noticeable, iconic form of dress, becoming widespread enough to the point where the outfit is one of the first Jobs-related items that gets parodied when doing a bit. Following the announcement of Jobs' death, sales of the famous turtleneck actually significantly increased. Though the outfit became recognizable as a representation of Jobs, and to a lesser extent, Apple itself, its inception wasn't all too celebrated, and was initially rejected by Apple.
In a book due to release in a couple of weeks, entitled Steve Jobs, biographer Walter Isaacson explains the turtleneck's origins. In the 1980s, Jobs spoke with Sony chairman Akio Morita about why everyone in the factories wore uniforms, to which Mortia explained that after the war, people didn't have enough clothes so Sony had to give them something to wear. Eventually, the uniforms evolved into their own styles, and created a kind of bond amongst employees. Jobs wanted Apple employees to have a similar bond, so he contacted the designer of the Sony uniforms, Issey Miyake, and asked Miyake to make a vest for Apple employees. Jobs presented the vest, and Apple employees were not fond of it. "Oh man, did I get booed off the stage. Everybody hated the idea." He grew to enjoy the idea of having a uniform for himself, however, both for the convenience of having a daily go-to outfit, and because it conveyed a signature style.]]>Steve Jobs made the black turtleneck and 501 jeans an instantly noticeable, iconic form of dress, becoming widespread enough to the point where the outfit is one of the first Jobs-related items that gets parodied when doing a bit. Following the announcement of Jobs’ death, sales of the famous turtleneck actually significantly increased. Though the outfit became recognizable as a representation of Jobs, and to a lesser extent, Apple itself, its inception wasn’t all too celebrated, and was initially rejected by Apple.

In a book due to release in a couple of weeks, entitled Steve Jobs, biographer Walter Isaacson explains the turtleneck’s origins. In the 1980s, Jobs spoke with Sony chairman Akio Morita about why everyone in the factories wore uniforms, to which Mortia explained that after the war, people didn’t have enough clothes so Sony had to give them something to wear. Eventually, the uniforms evolved into their own styles, and created a kind of bond amongst employees. Jobs wanted Apple employees to have a similar bond, so he contacted the designer of the Sony uniforms, Issey Miyake, and asked Miyake to make a vest for Apple employees. Jobs presented the vest, and Apple employees were not fond of it. “Oh man, did I get booed off the stage. Everybody hated the idea.” He grew to enjoy the idea of having a uniform for himself, however, both for the convenience of having a daily go-to outfit, and because it conveyed a signature style.

“So I asked Issey to make me some of his black turtlenecks that I liked, and he made me like a hundred of them.”

On a somewhat melancholic note in retrospect, Isaacson notes that Jobs noticed the surprise on Isaacson’s face when he told the story, so he showed all of the outfits sitting inside his closet, saying,

]]>http://www.themarysue.com/why-steve-jobs-wore-turtlenecks/feed/0Authorized Biography of Steve Jobs Due for Early 2012http://www.themarysue.com/steve-jobs-biography-2012/
http://www.themarysue.com/steve-jobs-biography-2012/#commentsMon, 11 Apr 2011 13:04:46 +0000http://www.geekosystem.com/?p=57452
For the first time ever, Apple CEO Steve Jobs has agreed to participate in an authorized biography which will presumably not get its author's publisher banned from Apple Stores. To be titled iSteve: The Book of Jobs, the book will be penned by Walter Isaacson and is set to hit stores in early 2012.
So why did Jobs agree to do this now, and with this particular biographer? Fortune reporter Philip Elmer-DeWitt, who was previously edited by Isaacson, hypothesizes:

The news came as no surprise to anyone who has worked with Isaacson. If there is one thread that runs through his long career in journalism and public service, it's his talent for spotting the most influential people in any room and finding a way to get close to them.
...
The Jobs book will be his fourth major biography. In addition to Kissinger: A Biography (1992) he has written Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003) and Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007). His most recent book is American Sketches: Great Leaders, Creative Thinkers, and Heroes of a Hurricane (2009).

Isaacson has reportedly been given "unprecedented access" not only to Jobs but to his family, past and current colleagues, and childhood setting, so this promises to contain previously unreported information on Jobs, albeit from a source he has publicly smiled upon.
(via MacRumors, Fortune)]]>

For the first time ever, Apple CEO Steve Jobs has agreed to participate in an authorized biography which will presumably not get its author’s publisher banned from Apple Stores. To be titled iSteve: The Book of Jobs, the book will be penned by Walter Isaacson and is set to hit stores in early 2012.

So why did Jobs agree to do this now, and with this particular biographer? Fortune reporter Philip Elmer-DeWitt, who was previously edited by Isaacson, hypothesizes:

The news came as no surprise to anyone who has worked with Isaacson. If there is one thread that runs through his long career in journalism and public service, it’s his talent for spotting the most influential people in any room and finding a way to get close to them.

…

The Jobs book will be his fourth major biography. In addition to Kissinger: A Biography (1992) he has written Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003) and Einstein: His Life and Universe (2007). His most recent book is American Sketches: Great Leaders, Creative Thinkers, and Heroes of a Hurricane (2009).

Isaacson has reportedly been given “unprecedented access” not only to Jobs but to his family, past and current colleagues, and childhood setting, so this promises to contain previously unreported information on Jobs, albeit from a source he has publicly smiled upon.

The New York Times reports that an authorized biography of Steve Jobs is currently underway and in its "early planning stages." According to the report, the biography is to be written by Walter Isaacson, the head of the Aspen Institute and the author of popular biographies of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin.

Apple hasn't officially confirmed the report, leaving it in the official category of "rumor" for the time being, but 1) it's the New York Times, and 2) perhaps more importantly, the reporter behind the story is the talented and trustworthy Brad Stone, who broke the news that Fake Steve Jobs was really Forbes editor Dan Lyons.

Lord knows there have been plenty of unauthorized biographies of Jobs -- by title, our favorite has got to be the one about "the Rise and Fall of Steve Jobs at Apple Computer," written in 1987 -- but this would be Jobs' first-ever authorized biography:]]>

The New York Times reports that an authorized biography of Steve Jobs is currently underway and in its “early planning stages.” According to the report, the biography is to be written by Walter Isaacson, the head of the Aspen Institute and the author of popular biographies of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin.

Apple hasn’t officially confirmed the report, leaving it in the official category of “rumor” for the time being, but 1) it’s the New York Times, and 2) perhaps more importantly, the reporter behind the story is the talented and trustworthy Brad Stone, who broke the news that Fake Steve Jobs was really Forbes editor Dan Lyons.

Lord knows there have been plenty of unauthorized biographies of Jobs — by title, our favorite has got to be the one about “the Rise and Fall of Steve Jobs at Apple Computer,” written in 1987 — but this would be Jobs’ first-ever authorized biography.